706 j The V O T A G E of Francis Firard de' Laval Book L 
which they make Pottage, with Milk, Cocoa, Honey, 
as well as Cakes and Fritters. The Country produces like- 
wife feveral forts of Roots, which the Inhabitants feed up- 
on, particularly one called Nellpou , which grows wild, be- 
ing round, and as big as one’s two Fills. Theybruife it upon 
a rough Stone, and then expofe it to the Sun, upon which 
itturns to a white fort of Meal that eats admirably well in 
Pottape or Cakes, only it muft be very frefh, or it is apt 
to lie heavy upon the Stomach. Another Root that grows 
there plentifully, and eats well, is called AUa^ which muft 
be fown and cultivated, and is commonly as big as a Man’s 
Thio-h. Some of thefe forts of Roots are red, and others 
white ; the Inhabitants boil them feveral Ways, and make 
them the rnoft of their Food, keeping them for a whole 
Year, for they come to Maturity only once a Year, viz. 
in Stpiml IH- They have no Rice but what is exported 
from the Continent •, however they have it pretty cheap, 
and ufe much thereof, either boiling it with Water or 
mix’d with Spices, boiled with Milk and Sugar of Cocoas, 
with Pullets, Fifh, or turned into Meal after drying and 
bruiftng, and then made into Cakes and Fritters, with 
Eggs, Honey, Milk, and the Butter of Cocoas. 
This Country is likewife fu milked with Herbs and 
Trees, fome of'which bear Fruit, and others not •, though 
the Natives eat their Leaves, they being fweet and well 
tailed. As for Fruit, they have infinite Plenty of Citrons, 
Pomegranates, and Oranges of Bananas , called by the Por- 
tugueze Indian Figs, and by the Maldives Qutlla, which 
is°a large, delicious, and nourifMng Fruit, infomuch that 
it ferves their Children inftead of Broth. The moft profi- 
table Fruit is the Cocoa, or Indian Fruit, called by them 
Coal , which is more plentiful in the Maldives than any 
other Part of the World ; fo that the Inhabitants know 
how to manage it better than others. This Tree alone 
might fupply all the Meceftaries of Life, for it affords 
Wme, Honey; Sugar, Milk, and Butter *, befides that 
its Kernel may be eat as Bread, of which they have none 
in that Country. Further, moft of their Utenfils are made 
of the Wood, Bark, Leaves, and Nut- Abells of this Tree. 
In fine, the whole Country is fhaded, and refrefhed with 
Trees, many of which ferve for no other Ufe but burn- 
ing ; fo that there is no Occafion to buy Fire-wood. Be- 
fides that, there are whole Blands covered with Trees, 
from whence they fetch what Fire- wood they pleafe. 
ii. It is very remarkable, that though all the thirteen 
Attollons are in the fame Climate, and all very fertile, yet 
they produce fuch different Commodities that one cannot 
live without another •, for what is plentiful in one, is 
fear ce in another, or, at leaft, is not fo good. This 
occafions a Neceftity of mutual Commerce j and the Inha- 
bitants have likewife fo divided themfelves, that one Pro- 
vince cannot live without another ; for the Weavers re- 
pair all to one Hand, the Goldfmlths to another, and fo 
on. Now, to render the Communication eafy, thefe Ar- 
tificers have little Boats with Cheeks, where they work, 
deep, and eat, while they are failing from one Ifland to 
another to vend their Manufactures ; and fometimes they 
are a Year out before they return to their fixed Habitation. 
As for Animals, they have prodigious Numbers of wild 
Pullets, which are fold for a Penny a Piece, and the fame 
Price will fetch three Dozen of Eggs ; next to Fifh, this is 
the moft of their Food. They have a great Plenty of 
Wild-Pidgeons, Ducks, Rayls, Birds refembling Spar- 
row-Hawks, black and grey Mufkets, living not upon 
Prey, but upon Fruit, iPc. As for domeftick Fowl they 
have none. The Crows are here very troublefome, for 
they are fo numerous and fo bold, as to take Things out of 
their very Houfes before the Peoples Faces. Their Bats 
are as big as Ravens, and their Gnats, or Mufketos, bite 
more feverely than in any other Part of the Indies. 
But they are moft incommoded by Rats, Dormice, Pif- 
mires, and other forts of Vermin, which over-run all their 
Houfes, and fpoil their Grain, Provifions, Fruit, and pe- 
ri Table Commodities. To obviate this Inconvenience, 
they build Granaries and Warehoufes on Piles, or Stakes 
in the Sea, at the Diftance of two or three hundred Paces 
• from The Land \ and moft of the King’s Magazines are 
.built after the fame Manner. They have no poifonous 
Animals, -except Snakes, of which a very dangerous kind 
frequent the Sea. Cats, Pole-cats, and Ferrits, are like- 
wife found there ; but there are no great Beads, either 
wild or tame, fave a few Sheep, and fome three or four 
hundred Cows and Bulls in the Ifland of Male , which 
belong to the King, and of which they never eat but on 
Feftival-Days, and folemn Occafions, for thefe Kine are 
imported from the Continent. They have no Dogs, nay, 
they abhor them fo much, that when the King of Portu- 
gal fent two as a Prefent to the King, he ordered them to 
be drowned immediately. The Sea affords Plenty of all 
forts of Fifh, efpecially between the Attollons , where the 
Sea is fnallow and calm 5 the Fifhery is the moft conftant 
Exercife of the Natives, who feed moftly upon Fifh, 
when frefh, with Rice, or other Meat fried with the Oil 
of Cocoas, or boiled in Salt-water, and dried for keeping. 
They fend every Day Ships loaded with Fifh for Sumatra * 
Achen , and other Places. Many of the Fifhermen have 
loft Arms and Legs that have been bit off by a fort of 
great Fifh frequent in thofe Seas. This great Plenty of 
ail Necefiaries caufes an eafy Purchafe ; four hundred Co- 
coas coil but a Larin , which is Eight- pence \ the fame 
Price will purchafe five hundred Bananas, a dozen of 
Fowls, or three hundred Weight of Roots, or a hundred 
large Fifh, &c. 
In fine, there is no Part of the Indies where a Stranger 
can get an Eftate fo foon as here, for it lies, conveniently 
for Trade, and requires but an inconfiderable Charge for 
Maintenance. The Natives, it’s true, don’t grow rich, 
and that I take to proceed from their cheap and eafy 
Living, which encourages them to Negligence and 
Idlenefs. Male , the principal Ifland, gives Name to all 
the reft. Dives fignifying a Clufler of little Blands. This 
Ifland ftands almoft in the Middle, and is one League and 
a half in Circumference ; it is the moft fertile of them all, 
the Staple-port and Magazine of all the reft, and the Refi- 
fidence of the King and the Court. By this Means it is 
better peopled, but, at the fame time, it is not fo healthy, 
for which the Natives give this Reafon, viz. The King 
and the Court having refided there Time out of Mind, 
and the Corps of all that died being interred a-part, the 
whole Surface of the Ifland becomes a continual Series of 
Graves, from whence the perpendicular Rays of the Sun 
extradl pernicious Vapours j and accordingly the Water 
is here fo bad, that the King and Perfons of great Quality 
fend for Water to other Iflands. 
12. In all the Iflands, even in Male itfelf, there is no fuch 
Thing as enclofed Towns, but the Houfes lie fcattered 
here and there, though not without fome Order and 
Diftindlion of Streets. The Common-People’s Houfes 
are built of Cocoa-wood, and covered with Cocoa-leaves 
fewed double one within another. Perfons of Quality and 
Fortune have Houfes built of Stone taken out of, and from 
under the Flats and Rocks. This fort of Stone is very fmooth 
and white, and fomewhat hard to cut, but when it is wet 
with Rain, or frelh Water, it lofes its Hardnefs, and, at 
laft, becomes all over black. The Manner of taking 
them out of the Sea is very remarkable. There grows in 
that Country a fort of Tree called Candou , which is as big 
as our Walnut-Tree, and refembles the Afpin in its fhak- 
ing Leaves and Whitenefs, but is extremely foft, and bears 
no Fruit, and is not proper for burning •, when it is dry 
they faw it into Planks like our Fir-Deals. This Wood is 
lighter than Cork. This premifed, we come to Ihew how 
they draw out the Stone: Being the experteft Swimmers 
that can be, they dive under Water, and having pitched 
upon a Stone fit for their Purpofe, fallen a great Cable to 
it, then they take a Piece of the Candou-wood, and hav- 
ing bored it, run it along the Cable quite up to the Stone 5 
after this, they run on fuch a Number of Pieces as they 
have Occafion for, till the light and floating Wood drag 
up along with it a Stone of 100000 Pound Weight. It 
was by this Contrivance the Natives took up the Cannon 
and Anchors of our Ship that was call away *, and I was 
Eye-witnefs to their clearing, by the fame means, in the 
Space of fifteen Days, the Harbour of Male , which was 
choaked with great Rocks, infomuch that no Ship could 
come in. When the Candou-wood is once foaked in Wa- 
ter, it muft be dried in the Sun before it be ufed, otherwife 
it will not float. 
